


Dawning Discovery

by ledez_dreams



Series: Slowly Towards [1]
Category: Firefly, Serenity (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-23
Updated: 2018-11-23
Packaged: 2019-08-09 07:32:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16445507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ledez_dreams/pseuds/ledez_dreams
Summary: She's known for a while now.





	Dawning Discovery

When Inara first caught the inkling, she immediately dismissed it. What was in front of her was simply not possible, a transient moment, nothing more. So she put it swiftly out of her mind. How could she have so poorly misjudged someones capacity for this long? Especially someone she knew this intimately.

But of course, it crept up again. And again. Unconscious awareness a cold stone in her gut at first. Nothing explicit of course. A word here, a lingering glance there. Increasingly Inara felt the whispers of intuition, premonition, before it fully entered into her waking thoughts. Her companion training made her incapable of self delusion. So acknowledgement was inevitable and from there she had to decide what to do.

She could prevent it. That was plain enough. It wouldn't even be all that difficult. What it would require though was dishonest intentions. She'd have to steer the course while feigning innocence. But her instinct and her sense of morality wouldn't allow for it.

The future was unwritten of course, but some things were better off nurtured than repressed. Certain things, feelings, if forced down, if left unexplored would turn into something loathsome. Feelings festered, what had the potential for good would become ugly, diseased. Resentments would grow. And it would infect all of them. Probably split the crew down the middle eventually, though no one would know why or how. Save Inara.

She was trained to help people come to discover these things about themselves, to tend to them, celebrate, not purge. So with decision made, a sense of calm allowed her a way forward. One day, shortly after coming to a decision of sorts, she caught River looking at her appraisingly.

"Things already unravel, Serenity feels the discord." She said cryptic.

"What do you mean, Sweetheart?" Inara had inquired. But River wouldn't say. Was it tacit approval that Inara would not prevent the inevitable, or was it expressed uneasiness with what River may also have picked up on. The girl kept her own counsel. No matter, the course was chosen and Inara knew she wouldn't fight it. She wouldn't help, but she wouldn't hinder.

But first, Inara allowed herself to cry. For in all of this, she had much to lose. And lose she believed she would.


End file.
